A Call to (Dis) Arms — A Call for Peace in Oakland After the Recent Murder of 4 Muslims
On Saturday October 10, 2015 two young men who were cousins, from a local family that has been active for years in the San Francisco Bay Area, young Mohamed Sabeh and Mustafa Saleh were senselessly slain in a double homicide in the 3700 block of Foothill Blvd — becoming the 71st and 72nd homicides in the city of Oakland this year. These 2 young men have joined other Muslim youth to be murdered in Oakland this year. Brothers and sisters like Tashri Talibdeen, Norbert Bluitt, Ali Abdallah, Shaheed Akbar (the Jacka), Herbert (Yunus) Whinthrow, Aiesha Thomlinson these names go with a host of other young brothers and sisters that have been killed echoing the Prophetic statement:
Abu Huraira reported Allaah’s Messenger (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) as saying: By Him in Whose Hand is my life, a time would come when the murderer would not know why he has committed the murder, and the victim would not know why he has been killed.
Murders in our city are especially hard to deal with for the families of victims because the Oakland Police Department only solves 28% of the murders here. This is less than half of the statewide average of 65% and it is the lowest homicide clearance rate in the nation according to the FBI.
When people are slain their voices are silenced. They become muted and powerless victims in a city that like many other cities have become living breathing paradoxes of the modern era. A time when most natives can barely afford to remain in Oakland — and as they are being gentrified to the point of extinction the few still holding on to the neighborhoods that they grew up in have to pray every day that one of their children will not be the next voice silenced in a city where law enforcement can neither protect them nor hold the murderous perpetrators accountable.
All the while the Muslims react with deafening silence. By not speaking up for the powerless we have failed the youth of our community. The Muslim community acts as if it is too busy to deal with an issue as trivial as Life and Death in the inner-city? Instead, we remained sidelined as the body count rises. Should we as people of faith not be out front on these issues, and if not then why not? Have we forgot that standing up for justice is part of this religion as Allah tells us when he says:
O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah , even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allah is more worthy of both. So follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed Allah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted.
It is the Islamic history of our early Muslim forerunners in America, they forged this legacy in the flame of struggle against oppression and inequality. This experience gave rise to figures such as Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali whose courage and dignity helped give voice to the freedom struggles of the 60s and 70s. Beginning with the work of many unorthodox Islamic movements like the Nation of Islam and the Moorish Science Temple and later through more traditional groups like the Darul Islam and the Islamic Party inner-city folk saw Islam and Muslims as workers for freedom and justice. That is why many urban folk support Muslim businesses and publications and give their children Muslim names. This was the Dawah of the past — giving people hope that life could be better and that Dawah was strangely effective.
Somehow the Muslims have lost their way leaving much of the community in 1 of 2 varying camps — the assimilators and the separators. Both of these camps their pluses and minuses but they seem to both be wanting when it comes to urban problems. The assimilators are mostly more affluent professionals that often tout how “American” the Muslim community in America is (or should be). They will often have open houses to invite non-Muslims in to learn about Islam. The imams that give sermons on Friday speak perfect English and Arabic and the mosques often encourage their members to be politically active and vote in both state and national elections. This stems from a feeling that Muslims should be part of the American fabric and not sheltered or secluded from American society. The Muslims should roll up their sleeves and put in the hard work that will help them earn the respect of their fellow countrymen.
Some complain that this attempt at assimilation may lead to appeasement and apology when Islamic principles do not fall in line with the overall US agenda on issues like US foreign policy, immigration and police violence. When concerned young Muslims ask these questions someone is sure to highlight Islamic teachings that reference principles like compassion, understanding, harmony and love thy neighbor. Implying that when things do not go the Muslims’ way in the world the believer should take the high road and in a turn the other cheek fashion — never seeking to question what kind of society one seeking to join?
However, not all the Muslims are run by affluent assimilationists. There are also mosques which are run by the working class separationist. These centers are places where the lectures are never in English; most of the people that attend these centers wear cultural dress, and there are hardly ever any talks of political activism or contributing to the society at large. These mosques act not only as places of worship, but also places where new immigrants can feel comfortable — a slice of home if you will — a place where their children can be taught the language of the homeland, where the food is from back home and where all of the lectures are in Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, Bosnian or whatever language the community members speak in their private spaces. The separationist are not always immigrants. Often indigenous brothers and sisters will become members of these communities or form communities of their own where they can put on a thobe and drop out of society.
The one common thread that can be found in both of these outlooks is that neither of them seem to care about the poor and down-trodden masses of people in this nation that seem to always get the short end of the stick when it comes to their standard of living. Although it may be for varying reasons both the assimilationist and the separationist seem to ignore issues of racism, inadequate healthcare, xenophobic immigration policy and the gun violence in our cities. The assimilationist does not want to deal with these issues that stem from white supremacy because examining issues like this may call into question the whole narrative that he espouses about the great values that America was founded on and how much these values fall in line with Islamic principles.
On the other hand, separationist does not want to deal with these issues because his world is too black and white to deal with questions that require critical consciousness. He sees these problems as “kaafir” issues proclaiming “that’s what they get for being muskriks.” When a Muslim who wants to change the world brings up these uniquely American problems both the assimilator and the separator say in a united voice “no politics in the Masjid!” and then return back to burying their collective heads in the sand. As the years go by more lives are being lost to senseless violence with no indignation (righteous or otherwise) from the Muslims.
The question now is: will you speak up for the youth in Oakland, will you say that enough is enough?
Oh You Who Believe — it’s time to take the lead on these issues that plague our community and let the people know that we are with them. We are against racism — bigotry and violence in our nation. We are with you because that’s what it means to be a Muslim.
For all my indigenous brothers and sisters we need to STAND UP because these are our neighborhoods and our people and our religious diversity shouldn’t change that fact. Do not take my word for it Allah tells us this in the Quran when He says in Surah 7 verse 85,
“…And to [the people of] Madyan [We sent] their brother Shu’ayb”
As we see in this verse the Madyan people who were unbelievers were sent their Brother Shu’ayb. Shu’ayb AS never said “those ain’t my people they — kaafirs” and we should not make remarks like that either.
That being said please join us this Saturday October 31st at Cesar Chavez Park 3705 Foothill Blvd from 1–3pm as we rally against the urban gun violence that has rocked our community. This is one of the issues that should unite us because this is something that has touched so many families.
“And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful.”
